Combined doorstop and keeper plate



April 1, 1924; Y 1,488,611

E. J. G. PHILLIPS COMBINED DOORSTOP AND KEEPERl PLATE F11 march v. 1922Patented Apr. I, "i924,

NITED STATES PATENT orties.

ELLIS J'. PHILLIPS, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO RICHARDS-WILCOX.MANU- FACTURING- COMPANY, OF AURORA, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OFILLINOIS.

COMBINED DOORSTOP AND KEEPER PLATE.

Application filed March 7, 1922. Serial No. 541,640.

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ELLIS J. G. PHILLIPS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident oi" Aurora, in the county of Kane and State ofIllinois, havel invented certain new and useful Improvements in CombinedDoorstops and Keeper Plates, of which the fol* lowing is aspecification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

It is commonto provide certain hinged doors that are used tor closinglarge doorways with a locking mechanism that com prises two boltsextending, respectively, upwardly and downwardly from a common actuatingmember, one ot said bolts being adapted to be projected into a keepercarried by the overhead beam of the doorway frame and the other boltinto a keeper set into the floor. It is usual to so construct the frameof the doorway that a positive stop is provided for the upper edgeportion of the face of the door to strike against when the door isbrought to its fully closed position, and the striking ot that upperpart of the door against such iixed stop ensures the upper locking boltbeing brought directly opposite the socket or keeper that is provided toreceive it. There is ordinarily no stop pr0- vided for the lower edgeportion of the door to strike against and it is, therefore, frequentlythe case that more or less ditlicultyy is experienced in bringing thelower locking bolt into the required alinement with the floor socket orkeeper, such diiliculty being :frequently increased becausefof the doorhaving become somewhat warped.

It is an object of my invention to provide a device for attachment tothe floor of a building which will serve both as a stop for the loweredge portion of a door and as a keeper :for the lower locking bolt thatthe door is provided with. Inasmuch as the doors vary in thickness it isevident that if the distance between the stop that the face of the doorcomes in contact with and the `socket that such bolt enters was notcapable of being varied such combined stop and keeper could only be usedin connection with one thickness oi door. To avoid the objection of adealer having to carry in stock a quantity ot the said devices for doorsof .different thicknesses is another object oi' the; invention, andbroadly stated, I accomplish constitutes the door stop, such platebeingy adapted to be secured to the base in any of its adjustedpositions. A further object of the invention is to render suchadjustable keeper-plate adaptable for use in connection with doors ofthe maximum as well as the minimum standard thicknesses without beingobliged to `rely upon moving such plate longitudinally oit the base thatit rests upon,

.and this I accomplish by making the opening in such plate, and intowhich the said locking bolt projects, at unequal distances from itsends, whereby by turning the plate end for end the bolt-receivingopening therein can be positioned for receiving the locking bolt on anystandard thickness of door, whereas if such opening kwere midway of theends ot' the plate the movement of the keeper plate longitudinally ofthe base would he the only way to eitect the desired adjustment.Furthermore, in view o'l' the quarter-inch dierences in thickness thatgenerally prevails with respect to such doors it would not be feasibleto properly arrange the openings in the base that receive the bolts thatattach the keeper to the base if successive adjustments were made merelyby moving the keeperalong on the base. By my construction, however, eachof such openings for the securing bolts is adapted for use when thedevice is employed in connection with either one ot two thicknesses otdoors.

In the drawings, i

F ig. l is a perspective view of portions of two hinged doors, to' oneof which is applied a locking mechanism comprising an upper and a lowerbolt adapted to be simultaneously projected or retracted, and showing myimproved combined keeper and stopvin position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view ot'my rimproved device with the adjustable keepermember thereof secured in position for use in connection with a door ofminimum thickness,

and showing by dotted lines its position when reversed end for end toaccommodate a door of the next standard thickness;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken at line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and showing aportion of a door and the loiver looking bolt carried thereby, the doorbeing shown as bearing against the stop and the bolt in engagement withits keeper to lock the door in place;

Fig. 4- is a cross-section taken at line e-/i of Fig. 2; l

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the base menber of the combined keeperand stop; an

Fig.. G is a perspective vienY ot the sliding apertured plate that isadapted to be adjustably secured tothe base member and When so securedthereon form a keeper for the door-bolt.

Referring to the several ligures of the draWing,-A-B indicate tvvoordinary hinged doors adapted together to close a large doorway. To theinner tace of one of the doors-A in the construction illustratedisattached a locking mechanism near' the free edge of the door, suchmechanism comprising upper and lower boltsk C and D, respectively, eachof said bolts being secured at its inner end -to a link, Which links areindicated by E and F, respectively. The inner ends of the two links are;pivotally connected to a rotatable plate r enclosed in a casing G whichis turned by means oa handle H connected with the l, saidrotatable plateby means of a shaft that projects through the casing. Each bolt passesloosely through a guide near the upper and lower parts of the door,which guides are indicated respectively by I and J. Loc-king mechanismsof this general type are common andV Wellunderstood and need no furtherdescription. Each of the bolts when in locking position projects into akeeper, which keepers are respectively connected with the uppercross-bar of the door- Way frame and the floor of the building# such. across-bar being here indicated by K and the floor by L.

My invention has particularly to do with the means l*for retaining thelower one ot such bolts, and, as here shown, such means comprises twoprincipal elements, to-Wit, a base and an apertured plate adjustablysecured upon suoli base. The' base member is indicated generally' by'y10, and as here sboivn it isy of oblong shape and provided at onev endwith a heavy lip 'l1 that rises above the tace of' the basesui'iiciently to serve as a stop for the door. The base as a Whole isadapted tobe set into a correspondingly-shaped recess in the floor, suchrecess being indicated by M, and of a depth toI bring the facev of thebase substantially flushV with the surface of the door. Asrshown,thelbasef-is provided with a downcent to the upstanding lip 11 as across-bar and designate it by the numeral 14, and shall refer to theportion of such Wall at the other end ot' the base as a cross-bar anddesignate it by the numeral 15. 16 and 17 indicate, respectively, twoinwardlyextending ledges at opposite sides of the opening 13, each ofsaid ledges being slightly below the plane of the upper faces of the endcross-bars lll and l5, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The edge of thatportion oi the ledge 16 that lies adjacent to the cross-bar 14C hasformed in it semi-circular notches spaced at regular intervals apart andindicated respectively by 16a, 1Gb and 16, and in the edge of thatportion oit the ledge 17 adjacent to the end cross-bar 15 is a similar'series oi spaced-apart notches which are indicated, respectively, by17a, 1Tb and 17C; 18A indicates a platev that is rabbeted at oppositesides in its under face as indicated at 19/ to adapt it to rest upon theledges 1,6 .and 17, and have its upper tace substantially iush With theupper faces of the cross-bars 14 and 15 of the base member. This plate18v has yformed therethrough an opening 2O which is considerably nearerone end of the plate than the other end, and, for convenience ofdescription, I shall refer to the narrower' portion at one end of thisplat-e as the end 21, and to the Wider' end portion as the end 22, andso indicate these parts, on the drawing. Adjacent to diagonally-oppositecorners the plate 1S is pro-vided with bolt holes 23, 2l, respectively,and when. the plate is in position on the ledges 16 and 17 with itsnarrower endv portion 21 opposite the cross-bar lst et the base the bolthole 23 is adapted toE register with one of the notches in the ledge 1Gand at the same time the other bolt hole will register with one of thenotches in the other ledge. The plate lis adapted to b-e secured to thebase by' means of two screw bolts 25 and nuts 26 (see Fig. 4).

lt is common practice to make doors of the character ivitl'r which myvimprovements will be used of standard thicknesses, such thicknessesbeing' in inches l, 2, 291;, 291;, 22, and 3, and according to thepositioning of the keeper plate 1801i the base 1,0 such plate will beadapted 'tol have received in its opening 20 the end of a bolt, such asD, carried by a door of any such thickness. As shown, the base 10 isscrewed firmly to the floor at the proper place to bring the upstandinglip 11 in position to have the lower part of the door A abut against it,such fastening of the base in place being, in the construction shown, byscrews 27 that pass through holes 28 near opposite ends of the base.Before the base is attached in place, howeverthe keeper plate is to beadjusted with reference thereto and boltedin position, and its positionon the ledges 16 and 17 will be determined by the thickness of the door.If the door is one of minimum thickness the end portion 21 of the keeperplate will abut against the cross-bar 14 and in that position the bolthole 23 will register with the notch 16a in the ledge 16 and the bolthole 24 will register with the notch 17aL in the ledge 17. If, however,the door be of the next standard thickness, which is here assumed to betwo inches, the position of the keeper plate will be reversed end forend so that its end portion 22 lies against the cross-bar 14 of thebase, and when in that position its bolt hole 3 will register with thenotch 17a and its bolt hole 24 will register with the notch 16a and byreason of such reversal of the plate the opening 20 therein will becarried just enough farther away from the cross-bar 14 to properlyposition such hole to receive the locking bolt carried by the two inchdoor. For the next standard thickness of door, viz, one of 21` inches,the keeper plate will be again positioned with its narrower end portion21 adjacent to the cross-bar 14 of the base but suiciently removedtherefrom to bring its bolt holes 23 and 24 in register with the notches1bb and 17h, respectively. For

A the next standard thickness ofdoor, namely,

one of 2% inches, the keeper plate would be reversed end for end but itsbolt holes would still register with the notches 16b and 17D, but byreason of the greater width of the end portion 22 of the plate itsbolt-receiving hole 20 will be carried just enough farther away from thecross-bar member 14 to permit it to be engaged by thefbolt on thisthicker door.y The same manner of adjusting the keeper would be followedin adapting it for receiving the locking bolt carried by doors of thenext two standard sizesthat is for the 2i inch thickness of door thekeeper plate would have its narrower end portion 21 toward the cross-bar14 of the )ase and for the 3 inch thickness of door would have its widerend portion 22 so located, but in both such adjustments the bolt holesof the keeper late would aline with the notches 16c and 1 C,respectively.

By my invention I provide not only a very effective and securely affixedstop for a door toabut against in its closed position, but 1 providealso in connection therewith a keeper plate that'can be very readily andeasily firmly secured to the base plate that carries the stop, and whichcan be so adjusted along f justability is a matter of great convenienceto dealers in'and users of builders hardware, for with the dealer itobviates the necessity of carrying in stock a comparatively largequantity of devices, and with builders it obviates the necessity ofhaving to specify with eXactness the number of such articles as may berequired in connection with a job having a large number of such doors,which doors indifferent situations on the same job may be of dilerentthicknesses. It is also of very considerable advantage to so constructthe keeper plate that the portion at one side of the bolt-receivingopening is of a dierent width from that at the other side, because thebase can be made somewhat shorter than if the keeper plate were merelyslid along a quarter of an inch each time an adjustment for a nextgreater thickness of door must be made, and, furthermore, such anadjustment of a quarter of an inch at a. time would be so small as topreclude the proper spacing apart of notches for the reception of thesecuring bolts that hold the plate to the base. Of course, it is to beunderstood that the widths of the portions 21 and 22 will be properlyrelated to each other so that a reversal of the keeper plate end for endwill secure the desired quarterinch shifting of the bolt receiving hole20. This will be secured by providing that the holes 23 and 24 will beso related in position to the large opening 2O that the dilferencebetween the distance from a line drawn across the plate 18 through thecenter of such opening 2O to a parallel line drawn through the center ofthe hole 23 must vary from the distance between the center of suchopening 2O and a corresponding line drawn through the center of the hole24 to the same extent, or in the same amount, as the variation of theysteps of the adjustments that are to be provided for.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with'a door and a boltarranged longitudinally of thcdoor and slidingly secured against a face thereof, of a combined stopand keeper comprising a base adapted to be secured in place beneath thelower edge of the door and extending beyond both faces of the door whenthe door is closed, said base having an abutment at one end for one faceof the door to strike against and having an opening in that portion thatextends beyond the other face of the door to receive said bolt.

2. The combination with a door and a bolt arranged longitudinally of thedoor and beyondI both facesof'the ,door when the doorr is closed, saidbaise having an abutment at .one end for one face of the door to strikeagainst, and a member mount-ed on said base adapted to receive andv holdsaid bolt mounted on the opposite face of the door,

said abutment and member being relatively movable toward and froml eachother.

3". The combination with a door and a bolt arranged longitudinally ofthe door and slidingly secured against a face thereof, of a combinedstop andi keeperl comprising a base adapted to be secured in placebeneath the lower edge of the door and extending beyond both faces ofthe door when the door is closed, said base having an abutment at oneend -for one face of the door to' strike against, and a member locatedbetween the o-pposite end of the base and the other face of the dooradapted to engage and hold the said bolt,- said abutmentand member beingrelatively adjustable toward and from each other.

4. The combination with a door and a bolt arranged longitudinally of thedoor' and slidingly secured against a face thereof, of a combined stopand keeper comprising a base adapted to be secured in place beneatl'ithe lower edge of the door and extending beyond both faces of the doorwhen the door is closed, said base having an abutment at one end for oneface of the door to strike against, a bolt-holding keeper adjustablelongitudinally of the base and located kbetween the opposite end of thebase and the other face of the door, and means for holding said keeperin its diferent adjusted positions.

The combination with a door and a bolt arranged longitudinally of thedoor and slidingly secured against a face thereof, of a combined stopand keeper comprising a base adapted to be secured in place beneath thelower edge of the door and extending beyond both faces of the door whenthe door is closed, said base having an abutment at one end for one faceof the door to strike against, an apertured bolt-holding keeperadjustable longitudinally of the base and' located between the oppositeend of the base and the other face of the door, and means for holdingsaid keeper in its different adjusted positions.

6. The combination with a door and a bolt arranged longitudinally of thedoor and slidingly secured against a face thereof, of a combined stopand keeper comprising a base adapted to be secured in place beneath thelower edge of the door and extending beyond both faces of the door whenthe door is closed, said base having an abutment at one ria-ascii;

per andk lower bolts arranged longitudinally of the door and slidingly'secured against ya face thereof, said bolts being adapted to beprojected beyond the upper and lower edges ofthe door, respectively, ofa fixed keeper to receive' the said upper bolt, and' a combined stop andkeeper comprising a base adapted to be secured in place beneath thelower edge of the door when the door is closed and projeetin'g beyondboth faces ofy the door, one of such' projecting end portions beingprovidedy with an' abutment for onel face of the door to strike againstand the portion projecting beyond the other face of the door havingadjustably mounted thereon v an apertured keeper plate for said lowerbolt, and means for securing' said plate to said base in its differentadjusted positions. l

8. An article of the class described, comprising in combination a basehaving a comparatively large opening in its upper wall, and having ateach side of said opening a ledge located below the plane of the upperface of the base, each of said ledges having a plurality of notchesinits edge, a keeper sl'idingly mounted on said ledges, and boltspassing through the keeper at opposite sides thereof and adapted toengage said notches for holding the keeper in a plurality of acljustedpositions.

9. An article of the class described, comprising in combination a basehaving an abutment at one end for a door to strike against, said basehaving a comparatively large opening in its upper wall and having ateach side of said opening a ledge, one of said ledges having adjacentone end of said opening a plurality of spaced-apart notches in its edgeand the other ledge having a plurality of similarly-spaced notches inits edge adjacent the other end of said opening, a bolt-receiving keeperslidingly mounted on said ledges, and bolts passing through the keeperat opposite sides and near opposite ends thereof and adapted to engagerespectively with the notches in the ledges for holding the keeper in aplurality of adjusted positions.

l0. An article of the class described', coinprising in combination abase having at one end an abutment for a door to strike against, akeeper resting upon said base and having a hole for receiving adoor-bolt, said hole being nearer to one endof the keeper than it is tothe other endthereof, whereby the keeper by being reversed end for endWill be adapted to receive bolts carried by doors of dilierentthicknesses, and means for securing the keeper to the base in either ofsuch positions.

ll. An article ot the class described, coinprising in combination a basehaving an abutment at one end for a door to strike against, a door-boltkeeper mounted on said base and adjustable longitudinally thereof, saidkeeper having a bolt-receiving hole that is nearer one end of theykeeper than it is to the other end thereof to adapt it for use Withdoors of different thicknesses by reversing it end for end, and meansfor securing the keeper to the base in any of a plurality oflongitudinally-adjusted positions and irre spective of which oliits endsis nearer the abutment.

l2. An article of the class described, comprising in combination a basehaving an abutment at one end for a door to strike against, a door-boltkeeper mounted on said base and adjustable longitudinally thereof, Saidkeeper having a bolt-receiving hole that is nearer one end of the keeperthan it is to the other end thereof to adapt it for use With doors ofdifferent thicknesses by reversing it end for end, and means carried bythe keeper for securing' it to the base, said means engaging the base atthe same place for each two successive adjustments that are made by saidend to end reversal of the keeper.

13. An article of the class described, comprising in combination a basehaving an abutment at one end for a door to strike against, said basehaving a comparatively large opening in its upper Wall and having ateach side of said'opening a ledge, one of said ledges having adjacentone end of said opening a plurality of spaced-apart notches in its edgeand the other ledge having a plurality of similarly-spaced Vnotchesl inits edge adjacent the other end' of said opening, a bolt-receivingkeeper slidingly mounted on said ledges and having a hole for receivinga door-locking bolt, said hole being nearer to one end of the keeperthan it is to the other end to adapt it to be brought into alinementwith bolts on doors of different thicknesses by reversing the keeper endfor end, and bolts passing through the keeper at opposite sides and nearopposite ends thereof for engaging respectively With the notches in thetwo ledges for holding the keeper in a plurality of adjusted positions.

ELLIS J. G. rainure.

